


(dont you) forget about me

by lovelilkitty



Category: IT - Stephen King
Genre: Angst, Gen, M/M, all from richies pov, literally only angst, one sided reddie, sorry - Freeform, this is so sad i ahte myself for writing it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-05
Updated: 2019-09-05
Packaged: 2020-10-10 19:41:27
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20533517
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lovelilkitty/pseuds/lovelilkitty
Summary: five times richie forgets the losers, and one time he remembers.





	(dont you) forget about me

**Author's Note:**

> hi yes i havent actually seen pt 2 yet so if anything in this is inaccurate or whateva dont bully me

It had been exactly 12 days since Richie had left Derry. The thought of it seemed to bring about a rather unpleasant chill to him, so he did his best not to think about it. Well, with the exception of his fellow losers, naturally. It was hard to remember things- Beverly’s laugh, the color of Mike’s eyes, the exact way Stan’s curls would bounce with his every move, but he did his best, clinging onto the closest thing he’d had to a family. 

In the end, it was Ben he forgot first, a pang coming to him as he attempted to recall the names and faces of his childhood friends. There’d been six of them, he was sure. The six losers. Their names would come to him, though not without a great effort on his part, and over time, seven became six, and Ben became just one more nameless ghost of his past.

After that, it was Bill and Beverly, both all at once, and yet not at all. Big Bill and Bevvy became no more than distance memories he would sometimes recall when he woke up sweating and shaking, haunted by a nightmare he couldn’t forget, yet could never seem to remember.

Mike was next, the fearless farm-boy and final addition to the friend group. Seven had become six, then four, and now three, him, Eddie, and Stan, three boys against the relentless bullies that plagued Derry- not memorable bullies, just usual older kids picking on the younger, a world where mean kids were the worst of his troubles.

And then it became just him and Eddie, Stan disappearing into the seeming void of things Richie could not pull out of the endless chasm that was his brain. Eddie and Richie, Richie and Eddie. Two boys, best friends, and the desire for more than Richie thought he could never forget the feeling of.

Except then he did. His childhood became a blur, a thought he’d never had to have. Sure he knew he’d grown up in Maine when he was a kid, but that was about all he could recall, and no one ever pushed further. With a job like his, no one cared where you lived or what you did as a kid, so long as you could make them laugh. And make them laugh Richie could.

But now, years later he remembered it all. He remembered Ben, anxiously teaching them the history of the town, awkward and clumsy, no more sure than any of them how to be a good friend. He remembered Bill, their unspoken leader, desperate to avenge a tragedy that Richie couldn’t believe any of them had forgotten. Bev, who would smoke with him at lunch and discuss their parents, things that they were tentative to breach the topic of with the rest of the losers, a mutual companionship and loyalty incredibly evident. Mike, which his easy laugh and unending bravery, calm and wise, who, although if anyone asked, Richie would certainly deny it, or crack some sort of joke to avoid any seriousness, he supposed he looked up to the most. Stan, with his angry smile when he got caught laughing at one of Richie’s jokes, the casual way he’d shut Richie down if he took it too far, the cruel jokes they shot back and forth, a disguise for what they both knew was really a display of closeness and loyalty. Most of all, Richie supposed, as he traced the initials he’d carved in his youth, he remembered Eddie. Eddie Kaspbrack, his first true love, and his closest friend. A boy he could banter with for hours on end without tiring. Who he could fight with one day, and who would still open his window and let Richie in that night, when things at home got too bad. Who would patch Richie up when something he said got him into a little too much trouble, but do his best to hide his obvious concern, matching Richie’s childish fear of seriousness with an equally fierce one of his own. Richie supposed it was only a matter of time before the whole process pf forgetting began, before the loss and pain he’d endured became no more than one of his frequent memories before he felt he could once more move on. But at that moment, he felt that nothing could stop him from forgetting the impact his friends had had on him, from undoing the scars and harm that he now bore with pride. 

There came a time, years from then though, where he did forget. Where the scariest and hardest thing in his life became paying his mortgage, and even that wasn’t too bad, not for Rich Tozier. There came a time when the moments Richie treasured most were the early mornings, when he woke up covered in sweat and tears, but with a smile on his face, because in that moment, he felt a little less alone.


End file.
